Reviews
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14th Dec 2012 Adventure Windbreak - Vango
I honestly never thought that I would own a windbreak. Call me a snob, but the bright stripy ones that adorn our beaches every summer seem like something from a bygone era to me, a memory of happy...
16th Nov 2012 Fontainebleau Climbs – The Finest Bouldering And Circuits – A Review
Fontainebleau Climbs – The Finest Bouldering And Circuits – A Review J & Francoise Montchausse / Jacky Godoffe I’m beginning to wonder whether it is possible to have too many guidebooks to...
13th Nov 2012 What Is It About Kendal?
What is it about the Kendal Mountain Festival that makes it so good? I’m off up there again this Saturday. Going with Lissa who’s working more and more with me on my events, so that she can...
12th Nov 2012 Sprayway Firebird Women's Jacket
I don’t normally wear purple! This jacket was a bit of a step outside my comfort zone. Firstly because of the colour, and secondly because I am wedded to my ‘proper’ duvet jacket at this...
30th Oct 2012 Autana & Odyssey
I usually have a rule in that I don’t review books or films by mates, but I’m breaking the rule today as I’ve watched two pretty cool films in the last week and both deserve some plaudits....
25th Oct 2012 New Balance MTE101GH (the green ones!)
There are two things I don’t like about these shoes, but other than that they are fantastic. Firstly the name. Why oh why do they give names like this to shoes? It’s like trying to refer to...
24th Oct 2012 Echoes by Nick Bullock
Echoes by Nick Bullock Echoes has been an interesting book to read. On the one hand I’ve found it incredibly interesting and enjoyable, but it’s also frustrated me at times. A number of years...
11th Oct 2012 Review: Where The Trail Ends
I don’t usually write reviews about adventure films. I know too many filmmakers through organising ShAFF, and worry that I can’t be as impartial as I would like to be. I’m making an...
2nd Oct 2012 The North Face Single Track Hayasa Shoes
TNF's amazingly light weight Single Track Hayasa trainers perform really well. Their tread is good for trail running and I've been on all sorts of terrain on them and felt happy with flexibility...
3rd Jul 2012 New Balance MT876OR Running Shoes
Enjoyed running in these shoes, but the sizings are definitely on the small side. Very light weight at 350g. Plenty of cushioning. The tread is billed as suited to running off road but I’d say...
14th Sep 2012 Day Walks In Snowdonia
Day Walks In Snowdonia 20 Circular Routes In North Wales Vertebrate Publishing I was born and grew up in Snowdonia so know the area pretty well indeed. My folks were avid mountain people so we...
11th Sep 2012 Assorted Energy Mars And Gels - Clif, Torq, Mule and Sesh
Until recently climbing had pretty much always been my sport of choice. I would still classify myself as a climber, but for most of this year I have been doing more running than anything else....
2nd Aug 2012 West Yorkshire Mountain Biking - Vertebrate Publishing
I’ve a neat little collection of these pocket sized guides on my shelf now. On a post card inserted inside the front cover Vertebrate Publishing claim to publish Britain’s best mountain bike...
1st Aug 2012 Dorset Rockfax
I’ve been climbing for more than twenty years now. I’ve climbed across much of the UK, but the south coast is somewhere I’ve only been three times. Don’t know why. It’s just panned out...
31st Jul 2012 Canoeing the Congo by Phil Hayward
Last year (2011) at ShAFF Phil Hayward came to the festival to introduce his film, a 20 minute short filmed and edited by himself, on his solo canoe expedition down the Congo river. A few months...
30th Jul 2012 Canyoning - Classic canyons in Spain, France and Italy
A selection of scrambling, aquatic and roped descents by John Bull. Cicerone are an unusual publishing house. They are an essential contributor to the world of outdoor guidebooks, primarily...
26th Jul 2012 Patagonia Cord Pants
It’s pleasant owning a pair of Patagonia trousers as I know they’ve been sourced sensibly. I’ve not owned a pair of cords for probably 25 years, but am wondering why? They feel strangely...
20th Jul 2012 Salomon S-Lab Fellcross Running Shoes
Fed up with the saturated ground and resultant mud in the Peak this summer I contacted Salomon to see what beast they had that could cope with the conditions during the wettest summer on record....
1st Jun 2012 5 and 6 - 3975 straight ups in central and southern Fontainebleau
Just over a month ago I went to Font for our annual Easter pilgrimage. I contacted Bart Van Raaij a week or two before going to see how his latest project was coming along, a similar guide to...
31st May 2012 Traversing Club - Climbing Games
My oldest lad goes to our local primary school. A couple of weeks ago local climbing wall builder Wallclimber installed a traversing wall in the playground and I offered to start running an...
24th May 2012 Wild Swimming – Coast
A few years ago I published a review of Wild Swimming. It was a breath of fresh air, a book packed with beautifully photographed wild swimming spots all over the British Isles. The thing was, it...
21st May 2012 Inov-8 Race Pro 4 Bumbag / Bladder
About 6 months ago I started running a little more often than I had done previously and a friend gave me a bumbag that he had no use for any more. It quickly became my pack of choice as I’ve...
17th May 2012 Nyx Jacket - Sprayway
Colour : Red with yellow piping to inner edge of jacket and hood. Size : Large Since receiving this jacket for review Britain has been gripped in spreading hosepipe bans, so there have been few...
15th May 2012 Pembroke - Rockfax
Printed a few years ago this is nevertheless a worthwhile addition to the Rockfax arsenal. It’s effectively an update on the previous guide (which came out in 1995!), bringing it into line with...
8th May 2012 My Tiny Sun Head 1,000 Pro Headtorch
I have said in previous reviews that there has been something of a shift in the standard of torches for outdoor users in recent years. It’s been driven by two things: LED bulb advances and...
4th May 2012 Berghaus Velum Jacket
Review UPDATE - April 24th 2013: Berghaus Velum Jacket Review [Update – 1+ year on] by Steve Hodges I questioned how it might fair in terms of durability being a lighter weight fabric but...
30th Apr 2012 Fiva by Gordon Stainforth
I tend to avoid reviewing mountaineering and climbing books these days. I’ve read so many over the years that I struggle with them, even if they are well written, as they are essentially...
27th Apr 2012 Patagonia Organic Jeans
It was inevitable that the world’s most popular trousers would make it into the outdoor market. A couple of years ago I tested some Alpkit jeans (which were waterproof) and have also had a pair...
27th Apr 2012 The North Face Women's Crimptastic Hybrid Jacket
The North Face Crimptastic Hybrid Jacket is aiming at two sophisticated markets. It has been designed with warmth and sport in mind, but it is also aimed at the fashion conscious woman who...
23rd Apr 2012 5 Plus 6 - Fontainebleau Guide by Bart Van Raaij
A few years ago I wrote a glowing review for a new guidebook to the boulders of Fontainebleau. It was a work of art and a labour of love all rolled into one, and the fruits of a talented and...
19th Apr 2012 Llanberis Slate by Ground Up Productions
Ground Up are a North Wales based company who produce North Wales guide books. As such they know their stuff. They also clearly knew that the slate quarries were desperately in need of a new, and...
17th Apr 2012 North Wales Classics by Jack Geldard - Rockfax
What a nice idea. A small pocket sized guidebook to the best routes in Snowdonia. It’s something portable that you can carry on a route with you. It’s a selected guide so saves you the expense...
2nd Apr 2012 Magicshine MJ880 Bike Light
There’s been something of a revolution taking place over the past few years. If you’ve noticed incredibly bright lights bobbing and weaving towards you on the road at night you’ll know what...
5th Apr 2012 New Balance MT00 Minimus Running Shoe
I’ve been living in or near the Peak for nearly twenty years now and I’ve done a lot of the climbing on offer in the area. Nearly five years ago I moved into a village crammed full of fell...
4th Apr 2012 The North Face Patrol Glove
So The North Face have come up with a ‘new way’ of sizing gloves according to this video. Sounds reasonable and sensible to make sure that sizes are consistent across their range, but I have a...
3rd Apr 2012 The North Face Diez Down Jacket
I managed for a few years without a down jacket, but the last few winters have encouraged me to see the error of my ways. This little baby from The North Face is a a far cry from my previous one....
23rd Mar 2012 The North Face Etip Gloves
I’ve had quite a few comments about these gloves, and not all of them complimentary. Not sure why really. I think it’s cool to knock geekiness which is what they really are. Essentially they...
22nd Mar 2012 Fizan Compact Walking Poles
I guess it’s a sign of getting older, but I’m finding that I am using poles more and more often when out in the hills. I’m running a lot which means my knees are taking a hammering so the...
27th Feb 2012 Vango Vitesse Tent
I've had this tent on test now for a while and although it’s not always been my first choice of tent it definitely is my ‘go to’ tent when I need something lightweight. Given the lightweight...
14th Feb 2012 Mountain Hardwear Mesa Pant
A simple, but effective pair of trousers which have stood up to everything I have thrown at them here in the UK, but sound as if they are made for jungle trekking! Comfortable and quick drying,...
24th Jan 2012 The North Face Superlight Sleeping Bag
This is genuinely the most comfortable bag I have ever had the pleasure of sleeping in. For all its clever features, more on them in a minute, the most noticeable thing about it is how it feels on...
30th Jul 2012 Scarpa Vapour Velcro
Scarpa Vapour Velcro RRP £79.99 Until a year or two ago I was an avid 5.10 fan. I liked their rubber and that was that. I tried other shoes, but didn’t really feel that anything compared on...